A nation of boxers
The big news today – the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that five out of six Filipino boxers competing in the World Boxing Cup in Mexico won. Hurray. Here’s what this really mean:
- The 2010 senatorial race has begun. Consequently, with the inclusion of Manny Pacquiao, the administration’s slate is already half-full. John O. disagrees, says he sees it as half-empty. Not to be outwitted, he rushed to the Elorde Boxing Gym to enroll.
- Their victory would inspire national pride. In legislative terms, this means that more congressmen, with the support of FG Mike Arroyo, would go to Las Vegas and other boxing hubs abroad and spend taxpayers money to show their sense of nationalism.
- The World Health Organization would express concern over the state of malnutrition and hunger in the country. Just a thought: if we are a nation of great boxers, why are we sticking with the lightweight division? I bet this has something to do with rural poverty: after years of farming, hardworking but extremely poor Filipino boys develop the stamina and the physique to compete in boxing. The more handsome in this lot end up in gay bars in QC.
- A thriving business for impersonators. Manny Pooh-quiao to be joined by Gerry Ann Penalosa, Zsa Zsa Bazooka, and Diosdado ‘Danielle’ Gabi in a fantastic production in Eat Bulaga featuring blonde boxers. A scandal called ‘Ring my bell’ would make them more popular.
- Give or take two more elections, boxers will demand representation in Congress through the party-list system. As a marginalized sector, they would prioritize the establishment of boxing rings-cum-solar driers in the country’s poorest provinces. Their representation in Congress would also surely re-define how the Speaker of the House is selected.
Mwahahahaha! Your third prediction is funniest.
After reading a news article on Iraq winning the Asian Cup, I pondered that truly, sports events are moments in which religio-ethnic differences are conflated into one national pride, even for fleeting number of minutes. Biruin mo, the entire Iraq was at suspended animation, Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds hugged each other! This led me to believe that what football is to Iraq is what boxing is to us (well sige basketball na rin). Kaso yun nga, ang pangit lang ng sa atin, after all the feeling of high, virtually everything tied to that triumph becomes sucked into the vortex of backward politics in our country – Pacquiao is cajoled to run for office, congressmen are even more tempted to misuse their pork barrel to be able to watch boxing matches, and more money are spent to support young boxers in the provinces instead of having them spent in the delivery of social services.
Potanginang buhay ito o.
The Philippine Boxing World Cup team made me proud. There is nothing much to be proud of these days and there is not much to celebrate about too. Kaya their victory was sweet.
Moreover, I bet those guys fought as if they are fighting their last fight last Saturday. I can bet that they come from the ranks of the poor and their fight last Saturday was the fight of the life time for each one of them – a fight that will give them world-wide recognition, a fight that will throw them and their families a lifeline that will haul them from the claws of poverty. They fought valiantly and they won. They got their time in the spotlight and they made their kababayans proud.
I’m sure they too, like most of us Filipinos, have many grievances to air. I will not wonder if they will seek representation in whatever form. The problem this our present political system and the system of representation barely represent the sentiments and interests of athletes and much less of the poor.
I think the issue is not their being boxers seeking for representation but the system that fails to represent them in the first place. It is also a system that gives premium to popularity rather than programs and substance in electoral exercises.
aaron,
unfortunately, some iraqi extremists saw it fit to celebrate their country’s asian cup win by detonating a car bomb (or was it a suicide bomber who did it?) in the midst of celebrating fans. more than 60 people were killed and dozens more maimed. and that’s a mega-downer in my book.
at yan ang kinaiba nating mga pinoy… the worst that we do to spoil a crowd’s merry-making is to make utot on the sly! hehehe…
love your blog fullman!
O syet. Oo nga raw, nung semifinals nga raw may nagpasabog ng bomba. *Sigh* O well… that goes to say that as much as Filipino politicians capitalise on our sports events, Iraqis extremists also do the same on theirs. Pero siyempre, massacre is massacre. The only crime that those 60+ people committed was enjoy the beautiful game, and they paid for it? Syet. Que horror, que horror.
Ay blogger pala si crush! Remind me to link you.
fullman, nag-full circle na itong blog post mo — nanalo uli si Money Pakyaw sa latest fight niya
I just learned about your blog from g4m. This is such a worth-reading blog.
why the hiatus? Any update on the blog of cong Riza?